Gator legs

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a leg covering for protecting the lower portion of a user&#39;s leg comprising: a mesh body, where said mesh body includes a plurality of openings; a center opening, where said center opening provides a means for the insertion of a user&#39;s leg; and a mechanism to secure the covering to the user&#39;s leg. The body of the leg covering may be substantially cylindrical in shape. In one exemplary embodiment, the mechanism to secure includes at least one strap where the strap includes a Velcro tip. In another exemplary embodiment, the mechanism to secure includes two straps where each strap includes a Velcro tip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a protective leg covering that may beworn to prevent cuts, abrasions, bug bites or other skin irritations.

2. Description of Related Art

On many occasions individuals such as gardeners and landscapeprofessionals may partake in grass cutting, weed whacking, leaf-blowing,raking, and other landscape or gardening tasks. Many of these tasksrequire the individual to work on his or her knees or walk though leavesor high grass. While grass cutting or weed whacking, flying debris maydisburse throughout the air and in particular at the lower levels ofheight near the shin of an individual. Many times this flying debris maycome in contact with a person's legs and if wearing shorts, theindividual may suffer abrasions or cuts due to the scattered debris.When operating a device such as a weed-whacker or trimmer, a stringtrimmer is often attached to the device and may come in contact with theoperator thereof. Particular exposure is prevalent with respect to thelower portion of the operator's legs and therefore an injury or cut maybe caused by the string trimmer.

Protective covers and guards have been developed to protect the lowerportion of an individual's legs while performing landscaping tasks. Theprotective coverings of the prior art provide protection for the lowerleg and on occasion the knee of the wearer thereof. One example of legprotection includes U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,383 which discloses a legprotection system that selectively covers a person's lower leg and kneeto provide protection against outdoor environmental elements. U.S. Pat.No. 6,205,593 discloses yet another leg protection device where alegging adapted for protecting the wearer's leg from flying debris isdisclosed. The legging of the '593 patent is defined by a substantiallytubular body having a first and a second end where the tubular body ismade of a flexible fabric enabling the tubular body to fit comfortablyaround a lower portion of the wearer's leg. U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,555discloses a lower leg and foot cover for covering the knee and lower legregions of a user's pants and the front of the user's shoes from soilingand soaking.

Although some leg protection devices have been developed there remainsroom for additional innovation with respect to leg coverings. Inparticular, it would be advantageous to provide a leg covering that iscomfortable to wear but provides suitable protection for the hazards oflandscaping and gardening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a leg covering for protecting the lowerportion of a user's leg comprising: a mesh body, where said mesh bodyincludes a plurality of openings; a center opening, where said centeropening provides a means for the insertion of a user's leg; and a meansto secure the covering to the user's leg. The body of the leg coveringmay be substantially cylindrical in shape. In one exemplary embodiment,the means to secure includes at least one strap where the strap includesa Velcro tip. In another exemplary embodiment, the means to secureincludes two straps where each strap includes a Velcro tip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a leg covering in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a leg covering to protect an individual'slower leg while performing landscaping or gardening work. The legcovering according to the present invention includes a mesh breathablefabric that provides a comfortable leg covering for an individual butyet protects the legs from abrasion or flying debris.

FIG. 1 depicts a leg covering 100 in accordance with the presentinvention. The leg covering 100 includes a mesh-ventilated body 26 thatincludes a plurality of openings to allow the movement of air throughthe leg covering 100. The body 26 is substantially cylindrical in shapewith an opening 27 for the insertion of an individual's leg and straps24(a), 24(b) are provided to secure and tighten the leg covering onto anindividual's leg.

The nylon straps 24(a), 24(b) include Velcro tips 23(a), 23(b) whichprovide a means to secure the straps and to tighten the leg covering 100into place. The Velcro tips 23(a), 23(b) are attached to the Velcro tabs21(a), 21(b) shown at the top edge and bottom edge of the leg covering100. The Velcro tabs 21(a), 21(b) are aligned with the straps 24(a),24(b) which are also positioned at the top and bottom of the legcovering 100.

The leg covering 100 according to the present invention provides a meansto protect the lower portion of an individual's legs from cuts,abrasions, bug bites or other irritations that may occur whileperforming the tasks related to gardening and landscaping. The mesh body26 of the leg covering 100 includes the plurality of openings thatprovides a comfortable covering that is also effective in protecting thelower region of the leg. The straps provided on the leg covering 100enable the leg covering to be secured into place and adjusted as desiredby the user thereof. The instant invention has been shown and describedin what it considers to be the most practical and preferred embodiments.It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from withinthe scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur toa person skilled in the art.

1. A leg covering for protecting the lower portion of a user's legcomprising: a. a mesh body, where said mesh body includes a plurality ofopenings; b. a center opening, where said center opening provides ameans for the insertion of a user's leg; and c. a means to secure thecovering to the user's leg.
 2. The leg covering according to claim 1,where said body is substantially cylindrical in shape.
 3. The legcovering according to claim 1, where said means to secure includes atleast one strap, said strap including a Velcro tip.
 4. The leg coveringaccording to claim 1, where said means to secure includes two strapswhere each strap includes a Velcro tip.
 5. The leg covering according toclaim 4, where one strap is position at the top edge of the body and theother strap is positioned at the bottom edge of the body.